Connecting a SolarMD battery

Overview

If your inverter is already reading your SolarMD battery, then you can simply select "Use inverter values" as the battery source in SolarAssistant and skip this guide.

SolarAssistant can be connected to a SolarMD battery via the battery CAN2 port. One advantage of CAN bus is that if a device is already reading your battery, SolarAssistant can "listen in" on the communication without affecting it.

USB cable and pinout

You will need to SolarAssistant CAN bus USB cable or alternatively the Seeed Studio CAN Analyzer. Crimp the cable into an RJ45 plug with the pinout below.

SolarMD CAN2 pinout

Protocol selection

On the SolarAssistant configuration page, select the protocol below.

CAN bus selection in SolarAssistant

Result

When multiple batteries are connected in parallel they will display as one large battery. Per pack metrics via CAN bus might be available in future.

SolarMD metrics in SolarAssistantSolarMD charts in SolarAssistant

Troubleshooting

If you find the data from the battery is incorrect, you may need to set the battery to Sunsynk mode. To set to Sunsynk mode, follow these steps:

  • 1) Hold in the push button until LED 4 flashes
  • 2) Let go
  • 3) Give short presses until LED 1 and 2 are orange
  • 4) Hold in for 2 seconds to select
  • 5) Give short presses until CANBUS 2 LED is GREEN
  • 6) Hold the push button for 2 seconds to select